I’m planning a beltway-type bike trip around Albuquerque, circumnavigating as much of the city as possible. In scouting for the trip, I first took the Bosque Trail, which follows the Rio Grande, or rather a trench parallel to it. It goes south past the airport and north nearly to Rio Rancho, the most uppity suburb of Albuquerque. The river is on the west side of the city, and while Albuquerque does sprawl out past it, the Bosque trail feels like it’s in the country. There’s running water, trees, and best of all, underpasses for the streets crossing the trail, so you don’t have to contend with cars. By the way, non-New Mexicans, the Rio Grande is not as glamorous as it might sound… it is grande only by comparison with the other rivers in the area. Its water flow is comparable to some so-called creeks in the northeast.
So the west side of the round-Burque trip is solid. The next leg is the trail running along Paseo Del Norte, which is not nearly as pleasant, being in view and earshot of the road. It also rises and falls a lot. This trail curves south and puts you onto the Diversion Channel trail, which runs from Balloon Fiesta Park to University of New Mexico. This trail is elevated from the city on top of very steep concrete arroyo walls, maybe 40 degrees, down 25 feet. It takes you through a strip mall area, which you get to see from the back, with all the loading bays and storage areas. (By the way, the arroyo wikipedia page mentions this very arroyo.)
On my scouting trip, I took that trail all the way south and went home. The next time, I scoped out the eastern half of the trip. Going east from downtown, you have to take streets for a few miles, but you eventually get to Paseo de las Montañas trail. This trail runs along a shallow arroyo, and it plods heedlessly across the large gutters draining into the arroyo from the side — meaning the cyclist has to deal with some unexpected five-foot dips.
This takes you to the trail running parallel to Tramway Blvd. Going north on this, you get an awesome view of the Sandia Mountains, but the trail sucks. The road is loud and busy, and you have to cross every street that intersects it. Tramway curves west when you get to the northeastern corner of Albuquerque, and the trail ends there. My map, however, claims that the road itself is good for bicycles by virtue of its “wide shoulders.”
Well. First of all, the traffic is very fast. The shoulders are wide, but not wide enough to make the cars feel very distant. Second, there is absolutely no cover from the wind coming off the mountains. I had never experienced wind like this in my life. It was blowing directly against me, and as hard as I pedaled I could hardly top 5 miles per hour — 50 MPH slower than the cars 10 feet to my left. (I checked the weather after the fact, and apparently there were gusts going even faster than the cars. Guess I should have considered that beforehand…)
And finally, the route doesn’t lead anywhere! It takes you past Sandia Casino and to Interstate 25, but then you’re SOL. There isn’t a single road going south off Tramway until you get to the highway, and the access road is really not bikable either. The map had made it look like I’d be able to get to Balloon Fiesta Park, just south of that intersection, but instead I had to keep following Tramway west. Past I-25, Tramway becomes Roy Ave and the shoulder disappears, and when I eventually found a way south, it was far out of my way on very bike-unfriendly roads. When I got home hours later, my eyes, ears and nose were full of grit, my bones felt strained and weak, and I didn’t even have the energy to take a shower. I won’t be going that way again.
So there are the ups and downs of my biking in Albuquerque so far. Anyone want to come with me on the beltway trip? I’ll find a better alternative to Tramway…
